Windshield wiper blade



June 23,; 1936. E/CgI-ORTONjET AL. 2,045,141

WINDSHIELD WiPER BLADE Filed May 29, 1935 Erwin ajyafiom [j'ey Huebez;

15 length of the blade.

Patented June 23, 1936 UNlTED STATE WINDSHIELD WIPER BLADE Erwin C.

7 Buffalo, N. Y.,

poration, Buffalo, N.

Application May 29,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to windshield wiper blades and particularly to animproved formation of the portions thereof which contact the surface tobe wiped, whereby an improved wiping action results.

Windshield wiper blades normally comprise one or more plies of rubbercomposition and are moved across the glass surface with one or moreedges in contact with the glass, to wipe away 10 water, snow, or otherforms of moisture or' foreign matter. To secure proper wipingaction, theblade is pressed against the glass with considerable pressure, in orderthat the wiping edge or edges will contact the glass along the entireConsequently the blade must be of a comparatively thick strip or pliesor be of comparatively stiff rubber composition, to prevent it frombeing so bent that a flat side surface, rather than anledse surface, ispre- 50 sented to the glass.

In use such blades frequently leave streaks across the wiped glasssurface because the wiping edge or edges, being comparatively stiff, donot follow closely or conform to minute irregularities in the glasssurface, or because the blades have somewhat irregular edges and do notpossess sufficient flexibility to'permit complete conformation to theglass surface. If it is attempted to overcome. this diii iculty bymaking the blade of an extremely thin strip or plies or of rubbercomposition which is extremely flexible, the necessary pressure willcompletely deform the blade, so that side surfaces, and not edgeportions, of the blade will contact the glass;

. The present invention co blade having a body portion of relativelyheavy rubber composition, or the like, with one or more relatively heavyprimary wiping edges, and having a very thin and flexible,-preferablytapering 40 edge portion for trailing the primary wiping portions tosmooth out any moisture remaining on the wiped surface and therebyeliminating streaks. The trailing edge portion, being very thin, andhence very flexible, will conform ac- 45 curately to the glass surfacewhether it be even or somewhat irregular, while the heavy wiping edgeportions will lend the necessary structural stiffness to the blade andwill perform most of the .wiping work.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent from the following description of the typical embodiment of theinvention illustrated in the accompanying drawins. wherein: 55 Fig. 1 isa vertical section through the wind- Horton, Hamburg,

assignors to Trico templates a wiper and Henry Hueber, Y Products Cor-1933, Serial No. 673,553

(01. 15-245 shield and header co wiper blade of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a cross-section through the wiper blade;

PE. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the position of the bladewhen in operation upon a glass surface; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 3. I

As shown in Fig. 1, the windshield cleaner comprises a motor iisupported by the header structure l2 of the vehicle body above thewindshield glass IS. The motor oscillates, or partially rotates, a shaftM which carries the arm l5 to which blade I6 is connected by means ii.The connecting means l'l preferably provide a play connection betweenthe blade and arm so that, upon movement of the arm in either directionabout the axis of shaft l4, theblade may be slightly inclined relativeto the glass surface, 1. e., will assume a position substantially asshown in full lines in Fig. 3 when moving in the direction of the arrowand will assume the broken line position of Fig. 3 when moved in theoppositedirection. Any suitable spring means, as forexample theresilient arm l5, may be incorporated in the arm and shaft assembly topress the blade against the glass so that the latter will be'contactedand wiped by the entire longitudinal edge portion of the wiper.

The blade, as best illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. includes a metal holderchannel or U-cross-section, for receiving a body Iii of rubber or likecomposition. The edges 2!, 2] of the holder may be contracted to retainthe struction of a motor vehicle provided with a windshield cleanerincluding the- III which may be of a body l9, and are preferably returnbent as indicated, in order to obviate raw metallic edges in contactwith the composition body, Which otherwise might unduly wear or cut thelatter. As a relatively thin -fln 25. from a widest point adjacent theshoulders 23,

-like edge 26, and be- 23 to a thin, almost knif i9, is a Between Thefin preferably tapers cause of its thin formation is much moresusceptible of fiexure than the shouldered portions 23, 23.

In operation, as indicated in Fig. 3, the body 98 13- between shoulders23, 23 and holder l8 will be somewhat flexed due to the pressure of theblade toward the surface of glass l3, the move- .ment of the blade (inthe direction of the arrow) over the glass, and the resultingvfrictional re- ()9 sistance due to the contact of one shoulder 23 andfin 25 with the glass. During such operation, the shoulder 23, or wipingedge 24, will function in the usual manner to remove water or snow fromthe glass. However, because of the thickness of ya the shoulder 23 andthe adjacent body portion IS, the edge 24 will be unable to exactlyconform to the irregular surface of the glass (which is apparent in themagnified view Fig. 4), or to flex sufliciently to bring its own edgeline, which 03 may be irregular, into full contact with a glass surfaceit the latter be smooth. For either or both of these reasons, the areaof glass, between contacting edge 24 (Fig. 3) and point 21 on the glasswhere the fin 25 contacts, may be streaked Si by small quantities ofwater or snow or other matter passed over by the edge 24. Fin 25,especially the very thin portion thereof adjacent edge 26, being veryflexible, will conform almost exactly to the surface of the glass, OIwhether the latter be smooth or irregular, and will wipe away much ofthe water or other matter on the glass which edge 2| has passed over. Inthis action the fln 25, and particularly the edge portion thereof, haveconsiderable flexure .relative to the shguldered portions 23, 23 of thebody l9. Further, the fin 25. by presenting a comparatively large areato the glass, will tend to smooth out or spread any remaining water, sothat a film, or comparatively wide strips of film,

of water will remain on the glass, rather than the more numerous verynarrow streaks which impair transparency of the glass.

It will be understood that upon reversal 0t movement of the blade, theother wiping edge 24 will contact the glass so that the blade willoperate in the same manner upon the return stroke, it then assuming thealternate reversed position shown in broken lines in Fig. 3.

Further, it will be understood that the device herein shown anddescribed is merely illustrative of the inventive principles involved,which may be applied within the purview of this invention, to wiperblades having other structural or physical formations.

What is claimed is:

In a wiper blade, a body of rubber composition, or of like material,having integral and substantially self-sustaining wiping shouldersformed on the opposite sides thereof to provide opposed wiping edges foralternate engagement 25 with a surface to be wiped, and a relativelythin integral fin projecting from the body between said opposed wipingshoulders and feathering to a flaccid lapping edge portion lackingself-sustaining characteristics and possessing greater flexibility thansaid shoulders for lapping the surface wiped by such shoulders.

ERWIN c. HORTON. HENRY HUEBER.

